• by Erik Sass , November 19, 2007

The magazine industry has gone all topsy-turvy, with some publishers reporting big declines, and others raking it in. Health and fitness publisher Rodale is one of the latter--reporting a 15.5% surge in print ad revenue in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year. For the year to date, revenues are up 22.4% to $462 million, per the Publishers Information Bureau.

Ad growth at Rodale was led by strong performances at Men's Health and Women's Health--where revenues rose 12.3% and 92.7%, respectively. Women's Health, which launched last year, saw ad pages grow 46.6% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Best Life, a relatively new lifestyle title targeting men, is also enjoying big increases in ad pages and revenue: Ad pages are up 36.2% as revenue has risen 27.8%. Finally, revenues at flagship Runner's World rose 11.3%, as ad pages grew 12.6%.

Growth at Rodale's various titles was led by advertising for over-the-counter drugs and medical, which jumped 43.7%. Toiletries and cosmetics followed with a 30% gain. Food and beverages rose a more modest 7.4%.

Rodale's online sites are increasingly important to the company's bottom line, accounting for about 8% of total revenues compared to 5% last year. Total year-to-date online revenues are up 76% from last year, with ad revenues from magazine Web sites specifically growing 61% in the third quarter. Also enjoying strong growth is BiggestLoserClub.com, the weight loss site co-branded with NBC.